Witness Denies Being Killer of Elderly Oxnard Woman

In an unusual twist in a murder trial, the defense attorney for Kenneth McKinzie opened his case Monday by calling as his first witness the man he maintains is the real killer.

But former Oxnard resident Donald Thomas flatly denied fatally beating 73-year-old Ruth Avril, saying she was a woman who was “like my grandma.”

The 21-year-old cook, who now lives in Tacoma, Wash., was flown in by the defense to testify. He told jurors he used to carry Avril’s groceries as a kid and helped her with odd jobs up until her death three years ago.

“She was a nice lady,” he said, denying that he ever beat, robbed or burglarized her.

But defense attorney Willard Wiksell suggested that Thomas, nicknamed “Little Tommy,” was an opportunist who killed his elderly neighbor during a bungled pre-Christmas robbery.

In a tactic reminiscent of the old “Perry Mason” television series, Wiksell told jurors in his opening statement last week that it was Thomas--not McKinzie--who fatally beat and strangled Avril on Dec. 21, 1995.

Her body was found the next day in a ditch by two surfers. The case was unsolved for more than a year before police received an anonymous call that led them to the 39-year-old McKinzie, who has an extensive criminal record.

He faces a possible death sentence if convicted of murder and related charges. He has pleaded not guilty and is expected to testify in his own defense today.

Wiksell says his client linked himself to the murder by buying a stolen stereo from Thomas and using Avril’s ATM card, which he said he got from Thomas, to withdraw money for drugs.

On Monday, the lawyer asked Thomas about his relationship with the victim and the defendant, as well as his whereabouts in the days before Christmas 1995.

Wearing baggy black pants and a loose-fitting shirt over his stocky frame, Thomas calmly answered the defense attorney’s questions for more than an hour. At one point, he told jurors that prosecutors assured him he would not be arrested in connection with the case.

“I’ve done nothing wrong,” he said.

Thomas acknowledged that he knew McKinzie for several years. Both lived a few blocks from Avril, and Thomas said he was friends with the son of McKinzie’s girlfriend.

A few days before Christmas, Thomas said, he saw Avril outside her second-story apartment walking to her car. Thomas said he was playing cards in a neighboring garage with friends who lived next door to Avril in Oxnard. He said they waved as she walked by.

Wiksell has suggested that Thomas went back that night to steal a stereo from Avril’s home, woke her up by accident and killed her in a struggle. He asked Thomas whether he once told a girlfriend that he committed a burglary during which he said, “Things got bad.”

“No,” Thomas said. “That never happened.”

Thomas acknowledged that his handprint was found at the crime scene on Avril’s stereo cabinet. He testified that three months before the slaying he had helped her move the stereo system away from a window.

Thomas also testified that he was familiar with the spot along Arnold Road where Avril’s body was found, explaining that he used to park there with his girlfriend.

After Avril’s body was found, police questioned Thomas in January 1996 about whether he knew Avril or any details surrounding her death.

During that conversation, Thomas asked a detective whether Avril’s stereo had been stolen during a robbery. He testified Monday that he asked the question because he heard McKinzie was trying to sell a stolen stereo.

“That got me suspicious,” he said.

As he testified, Thomas occasionally glanced across the courtroom at McKinzie, who was intently reading court documents as the witness spoke. They rarely made eye contact.

On cross-examination, prosecutor Cheryl Morgan asked Thomas whether he killed Avril, and he said he did not. Thomas went on to tell the jury that he has never been convicted of a felony.

Outside the courtroom later, Thomas declined to comment on the case.

Testimony is expected to continue today, and closing arguments could begin later this week.